Clayton-le-Moors Mount Pleasant Primary School

Inspection of Clayton-le-Moors Mount Pleasant Primary School Earl Street, Clayton-le-Moors, Accrington, Lancashire BB5 5NH

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Inspection dates: 12 and 13 October 2022

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Requires improvement Early years provision Good Previous inspection grade Outstanding 12 and 13 October 2022

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What is it like to attend this school?

Children settle quickly into school routines in the early years. They learn how to manage their own behaviour, needing minimal additional support from adults. Children develop independence and resilience as a result.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are happy and safe in school. They move around the school sensibly, demonstrating high levels of courtesy towards adults. Relationships are strong. Pupils play sociably with each other at breaktimes. They are attentive in class and participate in learning with enthusiasm. This is especially true when pupils learn to play a musical instrument or perform in the school band.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are respectful towards others who may be different to them. Pupils regularly take part in activities in their local or wider community. This helps pupils to broaden their own experiences or to support others who are in need.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Many pupils develop a wide range of knowledge as a result of the effective curriculum that leaders provide. Leaders expect all pupils to try their best.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Nevertheless, not all pupils achieve as well as they should. This is because leaders do not ensure that all pupils get the support that they need. This is particularly true for children and pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Leaders’ expectations for what some pupils with SEND can and should achieve are low.

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better?

The curriculum is broad and captures pupils’ interest. It meets the ambition of the national curriculum. Leaders are clear about what they expect most pupils to learn. They provide effective guidance to teachers and other teaching staff to make sure that most children and pupils learn what they need in the right order. As a result of leaders’ well-organised curriculum, children in the early years and pupils in key stages 1 and 2 develop a rich body of knowledge.

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better?

Teachers check what pupils already know to help them to build on their previous learning across the curriculum. Most children and pupils benefit from the regular support of their teachers as they make progress in all aspects of the curriculum. This helps most children and pupils to make a smooth transition from one stage of their learning to the next.

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better?

Leaders do not provide enough guidance for teachers to identify the additional needs of pupils with SEND. Added to this, there is variation in how clearly teachers understand what children and pupils with SEND need to learn next. Leaders do not make sure that teachers use effective strategies to support children and pupils with SEND well so that they can access the same curriculum as their classmates. 12 and 13 October 2022

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Leaders ensure that reading is a high priority within each class. Children enjoy sharing books, songs and rhymes in the Nursery Year. This enhances their development in other areas of learning.

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Staff who deliver the school’s phonics programme regularly are well trained. They follow the programme with fidelity. Children in the Reception Year begin to learn how to use phonics to read words. Most children and pupils develop fluency in reading because the books that they read are focused on the sounds that they have learned. By the end of key stage 2, most pupils are confident readers. They enjoy reading and listening to a wide range of high-quality literature.

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Some children, and pupils in key stage 1, with SEND are not taught phonics by their teachers as regularly as their classmates. These children and pupils are taken out of class to learn phonics. As a result, it is more difficult for teachers to know which sounds these children and pupils still need to learn. In addition, some older pupils in key stage 2 with SEND continue to struggle with reading, even though they have additional support to catch up. This is because leaders have not ensured that teachers identify and address any gaps in these pupils’ phonics knowledge.

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Pupils’ high standards of behaviour and positive attitudes to school enable learning to take place without disruption. Most children and pupils attend school on most school days. However, leaders do not ensure that all pupils with SEND attend school regularly. This adds to the limitations on the progress that these pupils make through the curriculum.

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Leaders ensure that pupils are supported well in their personal development. Pupils know how important rules are to keep everyone safe. They develop a secure understanding of how to make a positive contribution to their school and the local community. Pupils understand the value of democracy. They are keen to make sure that everyone’s views and beliefs are considered. These attributes prepare pupils well for living in a modern and diverse society.

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Staff feel well supported by leaders. Subject leaders are developing confidence in leading their areas of responsibility.

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Leaders and governors do not carry out their roles as effectively as they should. For example, leaders and governors do not use information effectively to identify emerging strengths or weaknesses in the school. As a consequence, leaders do not address the most pressing issues consistently well.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders ensure that all staff know how to keep pupils safe. Staff know how to spot the signs that might indicate that a pupil may be at risk of harm. Staff are vigilant and pass on their concerns to leaders responsible for safeguarding quickly. 12 and 13 October 2022

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Leaders take action to provide support for vulnerable pupils when concerns are raised by staff or other agencies. However, leaders’ systems to record safeguarding concerns are not used as effectively as they should be. Leaders do not identify emerging issues well. For example, they do not notice developing patterns of pupils’ lateness or absence.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Leaders and governors do not make effective use of the information available to them about what is working well at the school and what is not. This limits their ability to make decisions about the school’s current priorities. For example, leaders do not identify when some vulnerable pupils’ declining attendance could be an indicator of an emerging safeguarding risk. Leaders and governors must improve their ability to evaluate the information that they have at their disposal.  Leaders do not provide clear enough guidance to teachers about the individual needs of pupils with SEND. Some pupils with SEND struggle at school, especially with their reading. This hinders how well they access the curriculum and how well prepared they are for their next stages of education. Leaders and governors should ensure that teachers have sufficient information so that they can support pupils with SEND to achieve as well as they should.

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How can I feed back my views?

or to find out what other parents and carers think. We use information from Ofsted Parent View when deciding which schools to inspect, when to inspect them and as part of their inspection.

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How can I feed back my views?

The Department for Education has further guidance on how to complain about a school.

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Further information

You can search for published performance information about the school.

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Further information

In the report, ‘disadvantaged pupils’ refers to those pupils who attract government pupil premium funding: pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years and pupils in care or who left care through adoption or another formal route. 12 and 13 October 2022

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 3 October 2008

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Information about this school

 There has been a new headteacher appointed since the previous inspection.  The school’s published admissions number has increased since the time of the last inspection.  Leaders do not make use of alternative provision for pupils.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this graded inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Information about this inspection

 This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with leaders and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  Inspectors spoke with the headteacher and other leaders in the school. They spoke with a group of governors, including the chair of the governing body. They also spoke with a representative of the local authority. 12 and 13 October 2022

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 Inspectors looked at a range of documentation relating to safeguarding. This included: the school’s central record of staff and visitors; staff training records; records of safeguarding; and samples of the records kept on individual pupils.  An inspector listened to pupils reading.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in early reading, science, physical education, modern foreign languages and music. They spoke with the curriculum leaders of these subject areas. Inspectors also visited lessons, looked at examples of pupils’ work, held discussions with teachers and talked with pupils.  Inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour at breaktimes and lunchtimes. They observed pupils’ behaviour as they moved around the school. Inspectors scrutinised leaders’ records of pupils’ behaviour.  Inspectors spoke with groups of pupils about their experiences at school.  Inspectors spoke with parents as they dropped their children off at school. They

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considered the responses to Ofsted Parent View. This included the free-text responses.  Inspectors considered responses to Ofsted’s online survey for staff. There were no responses to Ofsted’s online survey for pupils.

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Inspection team

Claire Cropper, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Nick Capron Ofsted Inspector 12 and 13 October 2022

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regulates and inspects to achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children’s social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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